FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alta. — When American canola buyers travel through Western Canada they marvel at the fields of gold covering the Prairies.
“This is where Cinderella lives,” said agronomist Ernie Unger of Intermountain Canola.
“A lot of our people are in awe of the amount of canola grown out here.”
The Idaho-based company was at a recent field day searching for experienced canola growers to increase their line of specialty canola.
Four years ago the company contracted a handful of growers to seed 1,200 acres in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, 90,000 acres of canola was contracted in four-year rotation programs.
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Farmers enticed
During the field day, farmers were invited to inspect research plots of the canola where new varieties are being tested under Canadian conditions.
The company hopes to entice 300 farmers to grow their five main lines designed for specific uses. Each variety must meet tight specifications whether it’s going for margarine or cooking oil.
About 5,000 acres were contracted in Canada this year.
“It is not our intent to replace all the canola oil that’s out there…. Our intention is to be involved in unique marketing opportunities for people to be able to capture some additional value,” Unger said.
Unlike Canadian farmers who have readily adopted canola, American farmers have been reluctant to grow the oilseed because of uncertain markets, production problems and stories of past failures, said Intermountain’s Jim Maxwell.
American growers must also contend with drier, hotter weather and distance to crushing plants.
In the U.S., there is no established canola industry west of the Rocky Mountains where a quarter of the 260 million Americans live.
Intermountain sees a potential market as health-conscious, middle-aged Californians look for ways to cut fat from their diets.
Prime position
Unger anticipates the canola-growing regions of the Canadian Prairies and Pacific Northwest are in a prime position to funnel a steady flow of oil to that market.
“There’s no way we’ll ever be able to produce enough oil to meet that demand,” said Unger.
Dwight More of the Canola Council of Canada foresees the day when 500,000 acres of canola will be grown for specialty production, which would translate into $100 million for western Canadian farmers.
About 65,000 canola growers are seeding 14.4 million acres this year.
